FEATURE — When people talk about pelvic floor function or therapy, most often they think of recently or remotely postpartum women. However, as a pelvic floor therapist, I can appreciate that many of my clients are men, children and women who have never borne children.
The pelvic floor consists of three layers of 16 muscles. It is hammock-shaped and houses many nerves and ligaments. Its functions are to support abdominal organs, assist with core stability, help with elimination and storage of urine and feces and support sexual function and reproduction.
Common conditions caused by pelvic dysfunction include bedwetting, constipation, pudendal neuralgia, incontinence and prolapse. Most of these conditions are far from unique to women.
How would you know if you need pelvic floor therapy? Low back pain, pressure or heaviness, leaking, pain with sex, prolapse (the sensation that the pelvic organs are dropping) and difficulty with bowel movements are among some of the most common symptoms.
How does pelvic floor therapy work? A thorough assessment of your musculature and posture is performed. Treatment might include an internal vaginal or rectal assessment that is combined with biofeedback to help the client gain improved awareness of what the muscles “down there” are doing.
People frequently discuss doing Kegel exercises, but all too often, clients are doing them incorrectly. Many clients have a pelvic floor that is too tight in one or more of the muscles, so Kegels are actually inadvisable. Exercises and therapeutic activities that improve your pelvic health will be incorporated as is best for your lifestyle and conditions.
Although pelvic floor dysfunction can feel scary, lonely and challenging, there are qualified professionals who can help, and there is hope. Seeing a trained pelvic floor therapist can help you tune into this part of your body, improve your habits and enhance your quality of life.
A pelvic floor therapist can be a trained occupational or physical therapist. I work out of my own beautiful clinic, Unity Health and Wellness, in Hurricane and provide pelvic floor therapy among other occupational therapy services. For more information or for an appointment, call 435-703-6600.
Written by KERRY ANN HUMPHREY, OTR/L, IBCLC, owner of Unity Health & Wellness.
This article was originally published in the September/October 2022 issue of St. George Health and Wellness magazine.
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